Judges 11:7-17

7 To which he answered, Whether not ye it be, that hated me, and threw me out of the house of my father, and now ye have come to me, and were compelled by need? (To whom he answered, Was it not ye, who hated me, and threw me out of my father's house? but now ye have come to me, yea, compelled by need!)
8 And the princes of Gilead said to Jephthah, Therefore for this cause we came now to thee, that thou go with us, and fight against the sons of Ammon; and that thou be the duke of all men that dwell in Gilead. (And the leaders of Gilead said to Jephthah, Yea, for this reason we have now come to thee, so that thou go with us, and fight against the Ammonites; and that thou be the leader of all who live in Gilead.)
9 And Jephthah said to them, Whether ye came verily, or without fraud, to me, that I fight for you against the sons of Ammon, and if the Lord shall betake them into mine hands, shall I be your prince? (And Jephthah said to them, Did ye come truthfully, or without deception, to me, so that if I fight for you against the Ammonites, and if the Lord shall deliver them into my hands, then I shall be your leader?)
10 The which answered to him, The Lord himself, that heareth these things, is mediator and witness, that we shall fulfill our promises to thee. (And they answered to him, The Lord himself, who heareth these things, is our mediator and witness, that we shall fulfill our promises to thee.)
11 And so Jephthah went with the princes of Gilead, and all the people made him their prince; and Jephthah spake all his words (again) before the Lord in Mizpeh.
12 And he sent messengers to the king of the sons of Ammon, which messengers should say of his person (which messengers were to say for him), What is to me and to thee, for thou hast come against me to waste my land?
13 To the which messengers the king answered, For Israel, when he ascended from Egypt, took away my land, from the coasts of Arnon unto Jabbok, and to (the) Jordan, now therefore yield it to me again with peace. (To which messengers the king answered, For Israel, when they came up from Egypt, took away my land, from the Arnon River unto the Jabbok River, and unto the Jordan River; and so now peacefully, or without any need for fighting, return thou these lands to me.)
14 By the which messengers Jephthah sent again, and commanded to them, that they should say to the king of Ammon,
15 Jephthah saith these things, Israel took not the land of Moab, neither the land of the sons of Ammon; (Jephthah saith these things, Nay! Israel did not take the land of Moab, nor the land of the Ammonites;)
16 but when they went up from Egypt, Israel went by the wilderness unto the Red Sea, and came into Kadesh;
17 and he sent messengers to the king of Edom, and said, Suffer thou me, that I go through thy land (and they sent messengers to the king of Edom, saying, Allow us to go through thy land); the which king would not assent to the prayers of Israel. Also Israel sent to the king of Moab, and he despised to give Israel passage; and so Israel dwelled in Kadesh,

Judges 11:7-17 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO JUDGES 11

This chapter gives an account of another judge of Israel, Jephthah, of his descent and character, Jud 11:1-3 of the call the elders of Gilead gave him to be their captain general, and lead out their forces against the Ammonites, and the agreement he made with them, Jud 11:4-11 of the message he sent to the children of Ammon, which brought on a dispute between him and them about the land Israel possessed on that side Jordan the Ammonites claimed; Israel's right to which Jephthah defended, and made it clearly to appear, hoping thereby to put an end to the quarrel without shedding of blood, Jud 11:12-27 but the children of Ammon not attending to what he said, he prepared to give them battle, and previous to it he made a vow, and then set forward and fought them, and got the victory over them, Jud 11:28-33 and the chapter concludes with the difficulties Jephthah was embarrassed with upon his return home, on account of his vow, and the performance of it, Jud 11:34-40.

Copyright © 2001 by Terence P. Noble. For personal use only.